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CA judge rules governor illegally delayed nurse-to-patient ratios

Patient Safety Monitor Alert, March 9, 2005

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A judge ruled on March 4 that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger acted illegally when he delayed a state law requiring hospitals to have at least one nurse for every five patients, according to the Associated Press.

Hospitals have been required to have one nurse for every six patients in medical and surgical wings and one nurse for every four patients in emergency rooms. A 1999 law required a new one-to-five ratio to be enacted by January 1, 2005. The governor delayed that ratio until 2008 while the state department of health services conducted new studies. He also gave hospitals the flexibility to temporarily override emergency room patient ratios during sudden arrivals of patients.

The California Nurses Association sued Schwarzenegger on December 21.

Administration officials said they would appeal the ruling of Superior Court Judge Judy Holzer Hersher.

The California Hospital Association's attorney said that hospitals have had to turn patients away because of nursing shortages, and some hospitals have even closed because the current one-to-six ratio damaged their financial conditions.

The judge maintained that the hospitals' financial states don't give the state the right to delay the law, the intent of which is to improve patient safety.

To read the complete Associated Press article, click here.

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